Baroness Orczy

Baroness Sayeeda Warsi

Barrie Savory

Barry Campbell

In 1958 Barry Cryer had a Number 1 hit record in Finland with the song 'Purple People Eater' by Sheb Wooley. Over his 50-year career he has written for, among many, Morecambe and Wise, Bruce Forsyth, Tommy Cooper, Frankie Howerd, Bob Hope and Richard Pryor. He is a comedy legend.

Barry Cryer

Barry Cunliffe

Barry Dainton

Barry Davies, B.E.M, is a highly respected authority on the SAS and was decorated during his 18 years' service with the elite unit. He is the author of numerous books on the subject and appeared as an expert on the BBC's SAS: Are You Tough Enough?

Barry Davies

Barry England was born in London in 1932 and educated at Downside. He served as a subaltern in the Far East in the early fifties, then worked as an actor before starting a successful career as a stage and television playwright. His best-known play, Conduct Unbecoming, was a huge success in New York. England's first novel, Figures in a Landscape (1968), was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and made into a film by Joseph Losey.

Barry England

Barry Gordon

Barry Grossman

Barry Hines

Barry Humphries was an Australian comedian, actor and author. He was most famous for his alter ego Dame Edna Everage. He was married to Lizzie Spender, the daughter of British poet Sir Stephen Spender, and had two sons and two daughters.

Barry Humphries

Barry Johnston is the eldest son of legendary cricketer Brian Johnston. He was educated at Eton before becoming a songwriter for Apple Publishing, and in 1969 he joined the vocal harmony group Design. He sang with them for the next eight years (under his stage name, Barry Alexander) and appeared on over 50 TV shows in the 1970s, as well as writing several of their hit singles and many album tracks. After the band split up, Barry continued writing and, for two years, was manager of The New Seekers. He left the music business in 1983 to start a career in broadcasting, first on Californian breakfast show KLOA-AM and later with Radio Sussex and Radio 5. In 2006, he established Barn Productions, and has since produced over 100 audiobooks, including the award-winning Johnners at the Beeb and An Evening with Johnners. He has also edited several books and is the author of two biographies, Round Mr Horne: The Life of Kenneth Horne and Johnners: The Life of Brian.

Barry Johnston

Barry Letts

Barry Lopez was the author of two collections of essays; several story collections; Arctic Dreams, for which he received the National Book Award; Of Wolves and Men, a National Book Award finalist, and Crow and Weasel, a novella-length fable. He contributed regularly to both American and foreign journals and travelled to more than 70 countries to conduct research. He was the recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim, Lannan, and National Science Foundations and has been honoured by a number of institutions for his literary, humanitarian, and environmental work.

Barry Lopez

Barry Lyga is the author of several acclaimed young adult novels, including his debut, The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl and the New York Times bestseller I Hunt Killers. 
Barry graduated from Yale with a degree in English, and then worked in the comic book industry before leaving to pursue his writing. His comic book collection is still way too big. His knowledge of how to dispose of bodies is growing by the day. 
Barry lives and writes in New York City. His website is www.barrylyga.com

Barry Lyga

Barry Mazur

Barry McGuigan

Barry Michels has a BA from Harvard, a law degree from University of California, Berkeley and an MSW from the University of Southern California. He has been in private practice as a psychotherapist since 1980.

Barry Michels

Barry Miles is the critically acclaimed author of the biographies of Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs (all published by Virgin) and of The Beat Hotel. He also wrote Hippie and the authorised biography of Paul McCartney, Many Years From Now.

Barry Miles

Barry Norman

Barry Strauss

Barry Timms is a multiple award-winning storyteller who enjoys the way books bring people together. He grew up in the rugged Cornish landscape but now lives by a South London water tower and is a city boy at heart. Barry can often be found with pencil in hand, writing or drawing or both. Most exciting of all is putting words and images together, and the surprising results that can happen. Barry likes road movies, ghost trains and exploring forgotten side streets. He has twice been shortlisted for the UK Lollies Awards for This is NOT a Unicorn! and This is not a Dinosaur! In the USA he won the Bock Book Award for Children's Literature for Love Grows Everywhere.

Barry Timms

Barry Took was born in London in 1928. An early career as a stand-up comedian and sketch writer led to his first radio script credit, for Beyond Our Ken. From there he went on to create Round the Horne with Marty Feldman, whilst on television he wrote for series including Bootsie and Snudge and The Army Game. Amongst a variety of later jobs in front of and behind the camera, Took wrote and presented Points of View on BBC1 and also chaired BBC radio’s The News Quiz. He wrote a number of books, including The Complete and Utter History of Round the Horne and his autobiography A Point of View. He died in 2002.

Barry Took

Barry Turner

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Gwyn Thomas

Six full-cast dramatisations of the genius Welsh writer's novels, with 8 more story readings 
 
Gwyn Thomas, celebrated as one of Wales’s greatest writers in the English language, was a prolific author whose works spanned novels, short stories, plays for stage, radio, and television. 
 
This collection features his notable novel All Things Betray Thee, set in the early industrial era of South Wales, which explores the personal and societal impacts of industrialization through the eyes of a travelling harpist. Additionally, this collection includes a selection of his other works, showcasing his ability to capture the essence of Welsh life and his engaging storytelling. 
 
Content List: 
Dramatisations: 
All Things Betray Thee 
The Alderman 
He Knows, He Knows 
Gazooka 
The Entrance 
The Giving Time 
 
& Readings: 'Life in Meadow Prospect' (4 stories), 'The Cavers', 'Arrayed like one of these', 'Hugo My Friend', 'Little Fury'

Gwyn Thomas: A BBC Radio Collection

Six Full-Cast Dramatisations including All Things Betray Thee

Elizabeth Taylor

Full-cast dramatisations of three acclaimed novels by Elizabeth Taylor – including Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont – plus 17 readings of her short fiction Described by Antonia Fraser as ‘one of the most underrated novelists of the 20th century’, Elizabeth Taylor was much admired for her witty, acutely observed stories of middle-class life. She never achieved widespread recognition during her lifetime – perhaps due to the fame of her Hollywood namesake – but since her death in 1975, her work has been rediscovered. This collection showcases the very best of her oeuvre, as heard on BBC Radio.Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont is the poignant tale of an elderly lady who moves into a genteel London hotel and strikes up an unlikely friendship with a young writer. Jean Anderson stars as Mrs Palfrey in this 1974 adaptation, with Tony Robinson as Ludo. In A Wreath of Roses, starring Angela Pleasence, a violent and disturbing incident at the start of her holiday proves to be a memory Camilla cannot escape, while In a Summer Season sees wealthy widow Kate marrying a younger man, provoking gossip among her conventional 1950s community. Kate Buffery stars in this moving drama about love and the transience of happiness.Taylor’s short stories, a number of which appeared in The New Yorker and Harper’s Bazaar, are regarded by many as her crowning achievement. Included here are 15 of them, beginning with three tales read by Joanna Tope – ‘The Idea of Age’, ‘Plenty Good Fiesta’ and ‘The Blush’. Also featured is the Radio 4 anthology Dangerous Calm, comprising five stories abridged by Richard Hamilton: ‘The Letter Writers’, ‘The Benefactress’ and ‘Hotel du Commerce, read by Joanna David; and ‘Spry Old Character’ and ‘A Dedicated Man’, read by David Troughton. Seven more short pieces follow – ‘The Devastating Boys’ (abridged by Di Speirs), ‘Sisters’, ‘Swan Moving’, ‘Simone’, ‘Flesh’, ‘Gravement Endommage’ and ‘In and Out the Houses’, read by Sarah Badel, Sheila Mitchell, Fiona Walker, Ann Windsor, Rosemary Leach, Shireen Shah and Cécile Chevreau respectively.Two 13-part Woman’s Hour serials conclude our compilation. In The Wedding Group, read by June Barrie, two rebellious young people, each escaping their families, make an unhappy marriage. And in The Sleeping Beauty, read by Nigel Anthony, a 50-year-old bachelor becomes smitten with an enigmatic recluse – but both of them are nursing secrets... 
Contents 
Dramatisations:Mrs Palfrey at the ClaremontA Wreath of RosesIn a Summer SeasonShort Stories:The Idea of AgePlenty Good FiestaThe BlushThe Letter WritersThe BenefactressHotel du Commerce Spry Old CharacterA Dedicated ManThe Devastating BoysSistersSwan MovingSimoneFleshGravement EndommageIn and Out the HousesThe Wedding GroupThe Sleeping Beauty© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Elizabeth Taylor: A BBC Radio Collection

20 dramas and short stories from the acclaimed 20th Century novelist

Muriel Spark

BBC Radio dramatisations of some of Muriel Spark’s best works, plus bonus episode of The Essay: All Miss Brodie’s Girls 
 
Muriel Spark was one of Scotland’s brightest and most original literary talents. In a career spanning over 60 years, she published over 20 novels, as well as essays, poems and plays. Her work won her numerous awards and honours, and she was made a Dame in 1993 for her services to literature. These nine radio dramas showcase the breadth and variety of her oeuvre, with tales ranging from the humorous to the macabre, and featuring casts including Celia Imrie, Patricia Hodge, Siân Phillips, Mark Straker, Sorcha Cusack and Maggie Service. 
 
In The Girls of Slender Means, it is 1945, and a group of young women are bracing for the future as the world transitions to peace. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie focusses on an inspirational teacher whose illusions are shattered by a tragic betrayal. Based on Spark’s own Edinburgh schooldays in the 1930s, this classic tale was adapted as an Oscar-winning film and chosen as one of the BBC’s 100 ‘Novels That Shaped Our World’. Memento Mori, meanwhile, is a gloriously dark, metaphysical comedy, set among a group of elderly people tormented by an anonymous caller who repeatedly rings with the message ‘Remember, you must die’. 
 
The Vital Spark: The Driver’s Seat tells the tense, disturbing story of Lise, an enigmatic young woman travelling alone to a European city in search of ‘the one’, while The Abbess of Crewe is a sparkling satire on the Watergate affair, centred around a rigged election in a Benedictine convent. A Far Cry From Kensington evokes a witty slice of ’50s London life, as we meet the inhabitants of a rooming-house near South Kensington Underground, and the charming gentlemen and ladies of the shabby but genteel world of publishing. The winner of the 1962 Prix Italia, The Ballad of Peckham Rye is a musical version of Muriel Sparks’ magical realist fable, with lyrics by Spark herself and music by pioneering composer Tristram Cary. Also featured are an adaptation of Bang, Bang, You’re Dead, a short crime story set in Africa; and Spark’s first radio play, the ghost story The Party Through the Wall. Capping off the collection is a bonus programme, The Essay: All Miss Brodie’s Girls, presented by Ali Smith and exploring the many glittering facets of Muriel Spark. 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Muriel Spark 
First published 1957 (The Party Through the Wall), 1959 (Memento Mori), 1960 (The Ballad of Peckham Rye), 1961 (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie), 1963 (The Girls of Slender Means), 1970 (The Driver’s Seat), 1974 (The Abbess of Crewe), 1982 (Bang-Bang You’re Dead), 1988 (A Far Cry from Kensington) 
 
Contents 
The Girls of Slender Means 
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie 
Memento Mori 
The Vital Spark: The Driver’s Seat 
The Abbess of Crewe 
A Far Cry from Kensington 
The Ballad of Peckham Rye 
Bang, Bang, You’re Dead 
The Party Through the Wall 
The Essay: All Miss Brodie’s Girls 
 
© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Muriel Spark: A BBC Radio Drama Collection

Nine Full Cast Dramatisations including The Girls of Slender Means, The Prime of Miss Brodie and more

Ben Travers

Six classic farces from the renowned comedy writer, with casts including Judi Dench, Michael Williams, Joan Hickson, Alex Jennings and Penelope Wilton 
 
In the 1920s and ’30s, Ben Travers proved himself a master of comic confusion with his hugely successful Aldwych farces. Featuring battle-axe mothers-in-law, beleaguered wives, henpecked husbands and a host of humorous misunderstandings, they wowed West End audiences and were frequently adapted for film and TV. Four of the funniest are included here – A Cuckoo in the Nest, Rookery Nook, Plunder and Turkey Time – along with the award-winning radio productions of The Dippers and Mischief. 
 
The Dippers – How does a meek, middle-aged solicitor end up demonstrating a new dance at a prestigious ball? And what will his wife do when she catches him in the bedroom of a lovely young dancer? Michael Williams and Judi Dench star in this sparkling drama, winner of the 1989 Sony Award for Best Dramatisation. 
 
A Cuckoo in the Nest – Mrs Stokes, landlady of the Stag and Hunt, will brook no hanky-panky with unmarrieds – but with only one room available, she unknowingly forces an innocent couple into a bed of shameful sin. Starring Joan Hickson, Ian Lavender and Phoebe Nicholls. 
 
Rookery Nook – Newlywed Gerald Popkiss motors to Chumpton for his honeymoon – but with his wife called away to nurse her mother, he finds himself alone in Rookery Nook. That is, until a pretty, pyjama-clad girl suddenly turns up in the middle of the night… Ian Lavender, Brett Usher and Anne Jameson star in Travers’ most famous farce. 
 
Mischief – When stodgy middle-aged banker Reggy marries Elly, a bright young thing half his age, the scene is set for mischief, misadventures, mistaken identities and marital mayhem. Starring Freddie Jones, Melinda Walker and Penelope Wilton, this effervescent comedy won the 1987 Sony Award for Best Drama. 
 
Plunder – Gentleman burglar Freddy Malone boasts that he lives by plunder. But blunder is more to the point, as his old schoolfriend D’Arcy Tuck discovers after he collaborates in a jewel theft that goes horribly wrong. Starring Gillian Lewis, Henry McGee, Alan Curtis and Richard Scott. 
 
Turkey Time – It’s Christmas Eve, and the Stoatts have invited family and friends to stay at Cobblers for the holidays. But the festivities turn farcical with the arrival of a stranded showgirl and her furious landlady… Alex Jennings, Elizabeth Spriggs and Teresa Gallagher star in this cheery, Christmassy romp. 
 
NB: Please note that Plunder is a vintage production from 1965, which is reflected in the sound quality. 
 
© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Ben Travers: A BBC Radio Drama Collection

Six Full-Cast Comedy Productions including A Cuckoo in the Nest, Rookery Nook & other farces

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Dramatisations of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s most popular works, plus bonus documentary Often described as ‘the laureate of the Jazz Age’, F. Scott Fitzgerald captured the reckless, hedonistic spirit of 1920s America in his classic novels The Great Gatsby, The Beautiful and Damned and Tender is the Night. All three are dramatised here, as well as his sparkling short story ‘Head and Shoulders’, and a fascinating programme presenting a fresh perspective on Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece.The Great Gatsby – Arriving in Long Island, Nick Carraway is reacquainted with his distant cousin Daisy Buchanan, and falls in with her wealthy crowd. His neighbour, the self-made and self-invented millionaire, Gatsby, seems to have it all – but the one thing he truly wants, he can never have. Bryan Dick, Andrew Scott, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Amaka Okafor and Karl Johnson, star in this 2012 dramatisation of Fitzgerald’s seminal book on the fallibility of the American dream.The Beautiful and Damned – Anthony Patch and his wife, Gloria Gilbert, are the essence of glamour. True socialites, they spend their time drinking, partying and planning how to spend the vast fortune Anthony is set to inherit. But their decadence and excess will be their downfall, and when their perfect relationship hits the rocks, they descend into despair and alcoholism… Starring Joel MacCormack, Rhashan Stone and Jessica Hardwick, this mesmerising drama charts the Roaring Twenties via a vivid portrait of a golden couple and their doomed marriage.Tender is the Night – Psychoanalyst Dick Diver and his wife Nicole live the high life at their rented villa on the French Riviera. When young film star Rosemary Hoyt enters their circle, she fails to grasp the dark secrets that hold them together, and her dangerous attraction to Dick will have tragic consequences… Simon Harrison, Melody Grove and Kelly Burke star in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s poignant tale of love, disintegration and shattered dreams.Head and Shoulders – Seventeen-year-old Horace Tarbox, nicknamed ‘Horace Brainbox’ by his cousin Charlie, is a serious university scholar who doesn’t have time for romance. That is, until he meets sassy blonde flapper and chorus girl Marcia Meadow, and gives up the academic life for love… Starring Alan David Marriott and Briony Glassco.Against the Current: The Great Gatsby at 100 – Professor Sarah Churchwell explores new poetic, aesthetic and philosophical interpretations of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic novel, asking whether we have misunderstood the author’s intentions all along.Production creditsWritten by F. Scott Fitzgerald 
ContentsThe Great GatsbyThe Beautiful and DamnedTender is the NightHead and ShouldersAgainst the Current: The Great Gatsby at 100© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby, Tender is the Night & more

Four Full Cast BBC Radio Dramatisations

Michael Payne

Debbie Cook

Dennis Ashton

Stephen Mulrine

Sarah Maxwell

Five fantastical tales, each with a magical twist 
 
Discover a lady with a taste for immortality, a man who becomes a dragon, a man-eating witch and a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Perfect for fans of fantasy, these epic tales are packed with magical elements, fantastical creatures, and heroic conflicts between good and evil.In Lady Faustus by Michael Payne, the town gossips have only one subject of conversation - the mysterious Lady Faustus. The conjectures about her and her origins are boundless. But a certain handsome young lieutenant finds that the truth about her is far stranger than any fiction. Starring Rula Lenska as Lady Faustus and James Aubrey as Franz.Debbie Cook’s The Beast of Long Mindham stars Jon Glover as John Tillner. John doesn’t believe in dragons – who does, these days? But then he meets a witch who offered to turn him into one. Will John be tempted…?There is a legend that King Arthur will return to save England from great danger. The Peril by Dennis Ashton tells the story of what happens when George, son of George, is made King. The year is 1940, and the Battle of Britain is at its height...Ivan the Fool and Vasilisa the Wise by Stephen Mulrine features a man-eating witch, a talking doll, a dead princess and a live skeleton. Ivan is determined to marry the beautiful Vasilisa, no matter what the obstacles. But, as the saying goes, the course of true love never did run smooth…The Good, the Bad and the Slightly Unprepossessing by Sarah Maxwell is a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast set in America, with multi-millionaire 'Heartless' Harrison Hope. With his six-inch nails and hair and beard to the ground, he is very much the Beast and - well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, isn't it?©2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

High Fantastical

Five Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramas

Luigi Pirandello

A selection of plays by the award-winning Italian playwright – Luigi Pirandello 
 
Luigi Pirandello was an Italian playwright, novelist, and short-story writer, winner of the 1934 Nobel Prize for Literature. This collection features a selection of his most renowned plays. 
 
Six Characters in Search of an Author - The 1921 play about the nature of theatre and the problems of theatricality, in which six characters, whose author has abandoned them mid-process, turn up at a rehearsal and demand to be played by the actors present in order to resolve their tragedy and become 'real'. 
 
The Rules of the Game - A town in Italy, 1919: Leone and Silia, man and wife, live apart, and Guido is Silia's lover. There is an uncanny lack of jealousy on Leone's part, for he seems a man without any emotional cares whatever: to him it is all a game. It can still be a dangerous game.... 
 
Henry IV - A madman is shut up in a villa in Italy following an accident at a carnival. Twenty years later his friends come to visit him. Is he still mad, or is he sane? What is madness? What is sanity? 
 
'First Night' - A short storyThe phenomenal casts in these productions include: Juliette Binoche, Maurice Denham, Cherie Lunghi, Charles Grey, Oliver Ford Davies, Ben Daniels, Martin Jarvis and Mary Wimbush.

Six Characters in Search of an Author & other plays

Three Full-Cast BBC Radio Productions

Anthony Price

Two award-winning spy novels featuring Dr David Audley by Anthony Price, dramatised with full casts 
 
Crime novelist and journalist Anthony Price was highly regarded for his 19 espionage thrillers featuring intelligence agents Dr David Audley and Colonel Jack Butler. Here are two of the best books in the series, adapted for radio: the CWA Silver Dagger Award-winning The Labyrinth Makers, and Other Paths to Glory, which won the Gold Dagger and was shortlisted for the 2005 Dagger of Daggers Award for the best crime novel of the past 50 years. 
 
The Labyrinth Makers – The accidental draining of a lake reveals a crashed RAF Dakota, the body of a World War II airman and a cargo of builder’s rubble. A few days later, MOD backroom man David Audley receives an early morning summons to London, where he is instructed to abandon his Middle East research and investigate a Russian agent named Panin. Aided by the dead pilot’s daughter, Audley attempts to find out why the KGB are so interested in the downed plane – and soon uncovers a deadly plot involving smuggling, a ruined Berlin flak tower and the legendary Schliemann Treasure… John Stride stars as Dr David Audley and Paula Wilcox as Faith in this thrilling tale of intrigue, treachery and unexpected romance. 
 
Other Paths to Glory – Writing a book on World War I, Paul Mitchell is surprised to be called away from his studies by Audley and his colleague Jack Butler, asking questions about a German trench map. Returning home from the library, he is attacked and almost drowned – and when his supervisor is killed in a house fire and a Somme veteran dies in a hit-and-run ‘accident’, it becomes clear that anyone with a connection to the fatal 1916 assault on Bouillet Wood and the Prussian Redoubt is being murdered. Can the two MOD men keep Mitchell alive, and discover why the past has returned to take revenge on the present? Starring Martin Jarvis as Paul Mitchell, with Tony Britton as Dr Audley and Ronald Baddiley as Col. Butler. 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Anthony Price 
 
The Labyrinth Makers 
Dr David Audley – John Stride 
Faith – Paula Wilcox 
Tierney – Alan Manson 
Sir Frederick – Peter D’Souza 
Morrison – Neil Packham 
Mr Jones – Ian Sexon 
Mrs Harlin – Pat Williams 
Jenkins – Mark Coleman 
Roskill – Michael MacKenzie 
Butler – Raymond Ross 
Jake/Panin – Laurance Rudic 
Maclean – Sandy Neilson 
 
Dramatised by Nick McCarty 
Directed by Hamish Wilson 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 18 January 1992 
 
Other Paths to Glory 
Dr Audley – Tony Britton 
Paul Mitchell – Martin Jarvis 
Col Butler – Ronald Baddiley 
Mrs Mitchell – Lorna Rosslyn 
Constable Bell/Marcel Jarras – David Graham 
Mr Hutchinson/Capt Faversham – Douglas Blackwell 
General Leigh-Woodhouse – Jeffrey Segal 
Nicole MacMahon – Silvie Dattas 
Gatekeeper/Sorel – Steve Hodson 
Edouard Olivier – Andre Maranne 
 
Adapted by Alison Plowden 
Produced and directed by Harry Catlin 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 15 May 1976 
 
© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Dr David Audley: The Labyrinth Makers & Other Paths to Glory

Two BBC Radio Full-Cast Spy Thrillers

R C Sherriff

A diverse selection of dramas by award-winning writer RC SherriffPlaywright and screenwriter RC Sherriff was best known for his anti-war classic Journey’s End, based on his own experiences of serving on the Western Front. He was a co-writer on several successful screenplays, including The Invisible Man and The Dam Busters, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on Goodbye, Mr Chips. Beginning with Journey’s End, this varied collection features six of his acclaimed plays, ranging from a ghost story to a tale of the last days of Roman Britain.Journey’s End – March, 1918. Fresh from school, 18-year-old officer Raleigh is posted to the besieged company of his old schoolfriend and hero Captain Stanhope. Hunkered down in a dugout on the British front line, he must face the reality of war and the tension and strain of life in the trenches. Journey’s End was first staged in 1928, starring Laurence Olivier, and the 2007 Broadway revival won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. Martin Jarvis stars in this vintage radio production from 1970.The White Carnation – It’s Christmas Eve, 1951, and stockbroker John Greenwood and his wife are hosting their annual party. But as midnight strikes and he bids farewell to his guests, the door slams, locking him out of the house. Breaking back in, he finds that all the furniture has disappeared, and his wife has gone – and things are about to get even stranger… Starring Philip Voss, this supernatural comedy-drama tells the moving tale of a man given a second chance to do things differently.St Helena – In December 1815, the British imprisoned Napoleon on St Helena. Tracing the long slow decline of the caged tiger until his death in May 1821, Sheriff’s 1936 play, co-written with actress Jeanne de Casalis, is based on the diaries and accounts of those on the island at the time of the exiled Emperor’s captivity. Lee Montague stars as Napoleon in this 1972 historical drama.A Shred of Evidence – Richard Medway drinks a little too much at a rugby club reunion dinner, but still drives home afterwards. The next morning, he hears that a cyclist has been killed by a hit-and-run driver. Could he be responsible for the man’s death? Set in 1950s Surrey, this tense tale of guilt, blackmail and suspense stars Denys Hawthorne.Home at Seven – Bank clerk David Preston returns home at his usual time, only to discover he is actually 24 hours late. With no recollection of his missing day, he is stunned to find himself implicated in robbery and murder... A thrilling mystery starring the legendary Sir Ralph Richardson.The Long Sunset – The Roman Empire is crumbling, the occupation of Britain is at an end, the Legions are leaving – and the surviving Romans are alone and unprotected. This moving drama, starring Stephen Murray and Pauline Letts, follows the fate of one such Roman family, from their attempts to fight off the invading Saxons, to their final conversion to Christianity.Production creditsWritten by RC SheriffContents Journey’s EndThe White CarnationSt HelenaA Shred of EvidenceHome at SevenThe Long Sunset© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Journey’s End, The White Carnation & more

Six Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramatisations

Seneca

Full-cast productions of Seneca’s most famous tragedies, plus letters from the Roman philosopher read by Paul Scofield 
 
Stoic philosopher and playwright Lucius Annaeus Seneca lived through the reigns of Caligula and Claudius, and was tutor and adviser to Nero, before his untimely suicide in AD65. His gory, outrageous tragedy Thyestes inspired Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, and is widely considered his masterpiece. It opens this collection, which also includes his classic Oedipus, a selection of his correspondence and two special documentary programmes exploring the man and his life. 
 
Thyestes – Brothers Atreus and Thyestes have fought a long and bitter civil war. After seducing Atreus’ wife and stealing the golden ram of kingship, Thyestes is defeated and banished. A pretend offer of friendship sees him returning home with his three sons, ostensibly to share the throne of Argos – but in reality, Atreus Is plotting a horrifying act of revenge. Denis Quilley and Richard Pasco star as Thyestes and Atreus, wih Anton Lesser as the Messenger. 
 
Oedipus – Cursed by the gods, Oedipus flees his native city of Corinth for Thebes. There, he solves the riddle of the Sphinx, is proclaimed King and marries Queen Jocasta. But when the city is struck by drought and a deadly plague, he is faced with a new riddle: and the answer spells his own doom… Seneca’s reworking of the Ancient Greek legend is adapted by onetime Poet Laureate Ted Hughes, and stars Martin Jarvis and Siân Phillips. 
 
Seneca’s Letters – Paul Scofield reads a selection of Seneca’s lively, humorous philosophical letters to his young friend Lucilius, in which he discurses on topics including the evils of crowds, the pleasures of old age, the perils of drunkenness, the folly of wanderlust and the part played by philosophy in advancing civilization. 
 
Is Seneca Possible? – In a personal reflection on the celebrated playwright, poet James Fenton attempts to put him into historical context. T S Eliot asserted that Seneca ‘created his own genre’, but with so few examples of Roman tragedy remaining, has our view been distorted by the drama we’ve lost? 
 
In Our Time: Seneca the Younger – Melvyn Bragg and guests Mary Beard, Catharine Edwards and Alessandro Schiesaro discuss Seneca, reflecting on his status as one of the first great writers born in the new Roman empire after the fall of the Republic. 
 
NB: Contains strong language 
 
Thyestes 
Thyestes – Denis Quilley 
Atreus – Richard Pasco 
The Messenger – Anton Lesser 
Fury – Hugh Dickson 
Ghost of Tantalus – David March 
Courtier – Anthony Newlands 
Tantalus, Thyestes’ son – Crawford Logan 
His brothers – Stuart Organ & Simon Hewitt 
Seneca – Peter Tuddenham 
Chorus – Hugh Dickson, David Gooderson, Simon Hewitt, Anton Lesser, Crawford Logan, Stuart Organ, Richard Pasco, Denis Quilley, Peter Tuddenham 
 
Oedipus 
Oedipus – Martin Jarvis 
Jocasta – Siân Phillips 
Creon – John Rowe 
Tiresias – Hugh Dickson 
Manto – Frances Jeater 
Corinthian Messenger – Nigel Graham 
Phorbas – Timothy Bateson 
Theban Slave – David Gooderson 
Chorus Leader – Stephen Thorne 
Chorus – James Bryce, Jill Lidstone, David Peart, Jean Trend, David Gooderson, Nigel Graham, Timothy Bateson 
 
Seneca’s Letters 
1: Avoid the Crowds; Befriend Your Slaves 
2: The Pleasures of Old Age 
3: Worldly Noise and the Tranquil Mind 
4: Thoughts in a Dark Tunnel 
5: Philosophy v Daily Trivialities 
 
Is Seneca Possible? 
Presented by James Fenton 
 
In Our Time: Seneca the Younger 
Presented by Melvyn Bragg 
With Mary Beard, Catharine Edwards and Alessandro Schiesaro 
Produced by Simon Tillotson 
 
© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Seneca’s Tragedies: Thyestes & Oedipus

Two Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramatisations & Seneca’s Letters

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If you loved The Trial of the Chicago 7, you should read these books

Penguin Quiz: which literary monster are you?

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How to start writing fan fiction

Illustration of female-written, female horror

Witches, ghosts and feminism: how female authors are rewriting horror fiction

The first six novels in the Black Britain Writing Back series

Bernardine Evaristo rediscovers six novels by Black writers for Black Britain: Writing Back series

The 50 greatest horror villains in fiction

Where to start reading Kate Atkinson books

Where to start with Kate Atkinson

How to be a great storyteller | The Roald Dahl Museum

How to be a great storyteller

A picture of an illustration from Vashti Harrison's books Bold Women in Black History and Exceptional Men in Black History

5 influential black men and women who shaped Britain

Carlo Rovelli on Nabokov's butterfly expertise

Extracts

Vladimir Nabokov: novelist, poet… esteemed butterfly scientist?

The 1980s was a decade of massive social, political and cultural change. 

Books that shaped the 1980s

Read your way through Barack Obama's administration

Read your way through the Obama administration

Whatever age you are, there's something timelessly appealing about novels set on university campuses. 

The best campus novels in literature

We must help all students find belonging in books

How the Lady Chatterley’s Lover trial still resonates 60 years later

The book that changed Britain: why the Lady Chatterley’s Lover trial still matters 60 years later

Photograph of Louis de Berneries beside graphic of three book jackets: Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Light Over Liskeard, and The Dust that Falls from Dreams

Where to start reading Louis de Bernières’ books

Children's quizzes

Are you a Tracy Beaker or a Jess Beaker?

Netflix's The Social Dilemma is as alarming as a 3am Donald-Trump tweet about a new coronavirus cure. 

What to read after watching The Social Dilemma

Dolly Alderton on fiction, friendships and life in your 30s

P. G. Wodehouse had that deathless ability, to pinch a quip from Clive James, to turn a phrase until it caught the light.

Rib-tickling P. G. Wodehouse quotes to cheer you up

Writing advice: Tips from those who've learned the hard way

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